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Sonata in D minor, Kk141

Introduction

The Sonata in D minor, Kk141, is a wild piece, true to the demonic spirit of its key signature. If you have to perform it on a piano with a lazy action, you’re sunk. The flurry of repeated notes imitates the tremolo of a mandolin—an instrument that flourished especially in Naples in Scarlatti’s day. The left-hand chords should be snatched from the keyboard with a corresponding gesture. As in the previous sonata, Scarlatti plays with pauses and makes us wonder what will come next. The section beginning in F major in bar 53 winds up in the most terrific way, culminating in big leaps for both hands. After the double bar, the tremolo effect continues in a wonderful progression of harmonies. At the end I do something not in the score, inspired by listening to Scott Ross: I repeat that final wind-up section an extra time, giving the imagined dancers one more chance to strut their stuff.